The LEGO group have taken extraordinary action during the pandemic to support those in need. They repurposed factories across Europe to manufacture almost half a million visors for frontline health professionals who needed personal protective equipment. The Group also donated $50 million to a range of organisations who provide emergency relief to families and support for children to learn through play, alongside 250,000 LEGO sets.
LEGO group CEO Niels B. Christiansen is full of praise for the work of his ‘incredible’ team in the face of the pandemic and the challenges it brought: “I am incredibly proud of the team and how they have responded. We kept each other safe, we took care of those most in need and we did everything we could to inspire children and families, whose lives were put on hold, to learn through play.”
Lego remains as popular as ever
Not only have LEGO Group been committed to helping others during the pandemic, but they have also delivered double-digit growth. Strong consumer demand drove growth in sales, revenue, operating profit and market share. Despite the economic fallout caused by the pandemic, the company have been thriving, outpacing the toy industry overall. Consumer sales rose by 14% and revenue grew by 7% in the first half of 2020, compared with the first half of 2019. Market share also grew in major countries.
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LEGO group have attributed this in part to the unique appeal of LEGO to all ages. With children off school, parents working remotely and everyone being around at weekends, families have more opportunities to connect over activities at home together and LEGO is a perfect for a family pastime which everyone can enjoy.
LEGO is bringing families together
Christiansen said: More families are playing and learning together with LEGO bricks and we are seeing more adults than ever before enjoying building our more challenging sets.”
The diversity of the top-performing LEGO sets is testament to the company’s claim. They include LEGO Technic, LEGO Classic and LEGO Disney Princess. Dubbed by The Guardian as the ‘rise of the kidult’, the phenomenon of adults engaging with play is becoming more widespread.
LEGO is for grown-ups too
Aside from an increase in demand, LEGO group’s investment strategy has also helped them to navigate the impact of COVID-19. They benefitted from their investments in long-term growth initiatives such as e-commerce. For example, in the first half of 2020, they unveiled LEGO Super Mario, an innovative new play experience which blends physical and digital play. Downloads of LEGO digital building instructions doubled to two million, and the number of visitors to the LEGO.com e-commerce platform soared.
Christiansen has said the Group “will continue to invest in upgrading our e-commerce capabilities to support both our retail partners and own platform and continue to invest in creating fantastic physical brand experiences for shoppers and fans.”
The future is bright for LEGO, who, despite social distancing and a drop in footfall, are on course to open 120 new shops this year, 80 of which will be in China.
